New Paltz, NY — The State University of New York at New Paltz improved to 2-0 in SUNYAC play after holding on to defeat visiting SUNY Potsdam Friday, 79-74.
 
The Hawks (4-2 overall, 2-0 SUNYAC) had a commanding lead midway through the first half with Rylan Blondo giving his team the largest cushion of the game following an and-1 in transition with 5:30 left. The Bears slowly chipped away at the deficit and ended the half on a 10-3 run to trim the score to 41-33 at the break.
 
SUNY New Paltz re-upped the double-digit cushion and took its largest lead of the second half with about 11 minutes to play, as RJ Meyers-Turner aided in the run, first finding Jonah Bevacqua in the paint, then forcing a steal and pushing in transition, dishing to Blondo for the finish to bring the score to 61-48.
 
However, Potsdam answered with a 14-0 run fueled by Brandon Segar who scored six points in the stretch. Colton Huestis capped the surge for the Bears with a made 3 with just less than seven minutes left that gave the visitors its first lead of the game at 63-61. Blondo finally put an end to the unanswered run by earning two at the foul line, making one to get SUNY New Paltz within one. Following a defensive stop, Sean St. Lucia then tied the game at 63 with five minutes to go after he made 1-of-2 from the charity stripe.
 
 
With 4:30 to go, Isaiah Bien-Aise gave the Hawks back the lead, hitting a huge bucket in the corner for 3 to bring the score to 66-63, as St. Lucia threaded a pass through traffic to find an open Bien-Aise. Potsdam answered on the other end though with a 3-ball of their own in the corner to knot the score at 66 forcing SUNY New Paltz coach Keith Kenney into a timeout.
 
Bevacqua got his put-back to go out of the timeout to re-up the advantage for the Hawks, but the Bears countered with a 3-pointer by Jeff Williamson off an assist by Segar to give Potsdam back the one-point lead at 69-68. But, with three minutes remaining, St. Lucia hit the biggest basket of the game. As time was winding down on the shot clock, St. Lucia pulled up deep from the top of the arc and drilled a 3-pointer just before the buzzer sounded to push his team ahead, 71-69, which turned into the go-ahead bucket with the Hawks holding on from that point forward.  
SUNY New Paltz played stingy defense on the next possession and forced the Bears in a tough shot and even though Williamson picked up the offensive board, the Hawks regrouped again to anchor down and force another difficult attempt from distance that was off the mark. St. Lucia then worked his way inside on the ensuing offensive possession and dropped a pass to Frazier who was hacked underneath to earn two at the free throw line. Frazier made both creating a two-possession game with just more than a minute left. SUNY New Paltz once again made a stop defensively, as Potsdam missed an attempt from the perimeter with Brandon Scott picking up the defensive board. The Bears were then forced to intentionally foul to stop the clock and the Hawks hit enough at the foul line to put the game away.
 
Blondo led SUNY New Paltz with 16 points, eight rebounds, three steals and an assist. Frazier finished with a double-double, totaling 15 points and 12 rebounds with a block, while St. Lucia followed with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals. Bevacqua finished with 13 points, but battled foul trouble and played just 14 minutes, while Bien-Aise was a rebound and a point shy of a double-double himself, registering nine points and nine rebounds in 26 minutes.
 
SUNY New Paltz return to the Hawk Center Saturday when it hosts SUNY Plattsburgh at 4 p.m.

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